BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett had a word of warning for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow heading into the opener against him Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.

Garrett, who returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday with a hip injury, is gunning for the NFL sack title this season, and plans for Burrow to be his first victim. Of all the quarterbacks who appear in his Halloween graveyard each year, he’s sacked Burrow the most — nine times in eight games. It includes sacks in seven games, and three multi-sack performances.

But given that Burrow moves so well, can he get away from Garrett on Sunday if he needs to?

“No,” Garrett said.

Can anybody?

“A couple people have, but not this year,” Garrett said.

Garrett, who kicked off the offseason with a contentious trade demand and subsequent $40 million a year extension, is on a mission this season to grab all the gusto: a Super Bowl trophy, another NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and that elusive sack title.

Last year, it was won by Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, with 17.5, giving him 35 over the past two season — 4.5 more than anything other player. Garrett, who’s had 14.0 in each of the past two seasons, aims to win bragging rights on Sunday on the way to grabbing the sack crown.

Hendrickson, who recently ended his hold-in with the Bengals for a $14 million raise in 2025 to $30 million, will try to have something to say about that in his matchup with Browns new left tackle Dawand Jones. Garrett, on the other hand, will oppose four-time Pro Bowler Orlando Brown Jr., who’s started all 28 games he’s played for Cincinnati.

“It’s not me versus Trey, so I don’t think about it like that,” he said. “I want to be the best player on the field. I plan to lead the league in sacks and it’s not like he’s pass-blocking against me. I hope he does well. I hope he goes out and does what he’s supposed to do and I hope I do the same.”

He’s excited not only to take down Burrow, but to help put the clamps on their other offensive stars such as receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

“They got a whole bunch of special talents all over their team so it’s exciting to be able to compete against them, especially twice,” he said.

While the Bengals are hell-bent on busting out of their three-year slump of starting 0-2, Garrett expects strong start for the Browns.

“It sets the tone,” he said. “So you want to set the year off right and we’ve got to go out and establish the standard and the direction of the team early.”

Despite the fact he wants to take Burrow down and hopefully strip him of the ball, he’s always respected him.

“Just very calm and supportive of his teammates,” he said. “Always see him running up to them and celebrating their success. A hell of a competitor but not a big, vocal, in your face guy. And he competes, I would say, the right way and just have fun doing it. You can see the joy he has in playing the game, but he does it so smooth. He’s got his own style when he’s out there.”

Garrett is hoping for a similar performance from two years ago, when the Browns menaced Burrow — coming off his calf injury — and won 24-3.

“I mean, we’re hoping to do something very similar and keep those guys mostly contained, or as much as possible, and strike early, try to put the game away and it’ll turn into a passing game at end the game and let us up front tee off as a four-man front,” he said.

Garrett admits he takes some satisfaction in setting the edge market at $40 million a year when he signed his extension in March. After that, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt signed for $41 million a year, and Hendrickson got his raise. Most recently, Garrett’s good friend Micah Parson demanded the Cowboys trade, and not only got his wish, but a $47 million a year extension from the Packers.

“I share a sense of pride with some of the guys I’ve been able to talk to, especially Micah,” he said. “Him and I had the opportunity to talk through the process and I’m just happy to see him be somewhere he’s happy and go out there and have opportunity to play meaningful games. He just wants to play at a high level, compete for a Super Bowl and go for the Defensive Player of the Year. So I’m happy to see that for him. Know he’s a hell of a talent.”

This post will be updated.

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